San Antonio business leaders on Friday criticized efforts by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to tie stronger U.S.-Mexico border controls to the start of citizenship pathways for undocumented foreigners in the United States.

Others said a proposal to increase the quota of skilled foreign workers does not go far enough to meet demand of U.S. technology companies.

Mayor Julián Castro, meanwhile, called on Texas' two U.S. senators, both Republicans, to support comprehensive immigration policy changes as the Senate continues to debate and amend its version of a sweeping reform bill.

Castro made his comments to the media after a group of about 30 San Antonio business executives and immigration lawyers were briefed on the bill's status at the corporate headquarters of Zachry Holdings Inc.

Castro, a Democrat, flew to Washington on Monday to join an appeal by President Barack Obama for passage of an immigration bill as the Senate started debate and the amendment process, expected to continue next week.

Castro said the bill would enhance border security, help employers ensure workers they hire are here legally, and help those here who are undocumented to start a process toward residency and citizenship.

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“The legislation is the best chance in a long time for immigration reform,” Castro said.

One proposed amendment by Cornyn would require a 90 percent apprehension rate of illegal crossings on the U.S.-Mexico border before the program for residency and citizenship of those already in the United States can begin.

“There's no way to assure anyone there's a 90 percent apprehension rate or a 10 percent rate,” Cavazos said. “The border is a trade thoroughfare ... No border can be secured, even through militarization, that can stop people who want to work here.”

The Cornyn amendment also calls for the start of an entry-exit biometric system that would check the visas of foreigners as they leave the United States to see whether they overstayed their visa limit.

Cavazos called an entry-exit system a further barrier to immigration reform. “It's a no-go. Border enforcement is a red herring,” he said.

Border security should focus on stopping the illegal drug trade while people entering the country wanting to work, with or without documents, should be embraced because they will help the economy, Cavazos said.

“We have to stand up against folks who are anti-immigrant,” Cavazos added, stating amendments like Cornyn's reflect “folks who don't want reform to occur.”

Rackspace Hosting Chairman Graham Weston said current limits on visas for high-skilled technology workers, known as H-1B visas, are hurting U.S. companies that currently dominate the global technology industry.

Google, Yahoo! and eBay are U.S. companies founded by immigrants, Weston said. “This is something America needs more of,” he said. “We all have a shortage of talent. We have not developed the quantity of people to support U.S. companies.”

Rackspace, a 5,000-employee company with 1,100 workers based overseas, is trying to acquire two foreign companies, including an unidentified Israeli company that has innovative cloud-computing technology.

“We have to decide to leave them in a foreign country or move them here. We should build the brain trust here,” Weston said.

The Senate bill under consideration would raise the H-1B annual visa cap to 110,000 from 65,000 with a future limit of 180,000. “It's still not enough,” Weston said.

Small businesses have a stake in immigration reform, said Patrick Shearer, San Antonio market president of Accion Texas Inc., a large micro- and small-business lender.

“We have small-business owners trying to hire immigrants, and immigrants trying to start businesses,” Shearer said. “The immigration system now works against them instead of helping them.”

dhendricks@express-news.net

An earlier version of this article incorrectly included ParLevel Systems as a company that Rackspace was trying to acquire. Weston says the company, which is incubating at Geekdom, is a potential victim of current U.S. immigration policies.